EJ LAUNCHES NEW FORMAT: The American Go E-Journal's new
format includes photos, graphics, game diagrams and HTML formatting to
improve our look and feel. We've also eliminated clunky website links,
which are now embedded in the EJ text. More and better-looking go content: Enjoy!

AGA MEMBERSHIP SETS NEW HIGHS: Full
memberships hit a record high of 1,811 in February, up a whopping 76,
the biggest one-month increase since September, 2003. This continues a
3-month surge in Full memberships. Youth memberships were also the
highest ever in February, with 576 Youth members. Total AGA membership
hit 2,176 last month, the third-highest ever and just 4 short of the
2,180 record high set in January 2006. Limited members were up 21 to
203, Chapters were up 7 to 132, Sponsors were up 1 to 42, and
Sustainers and Life members held steady at 61 and 55, respectively. Click here now to join or renew your membership.

BIG PRIZE TOURNEY IN NYC THIS SAT:
Over 100 players are expected at this Saturday’s NY Radio Korea
2007 Spring Go Competition in Flushing, NY. The March 10 event features
big prizes, including a 42" LCD TV and Home Theater Systems, and
sponsor Radio Korea is giving all players a gift. See the Calendar
listings below for details.

ANNUAL YANG WORKSHOP IN MD A BIG SUCCESS: Yilun Yang 7P's workshop last
week in Maryland proved very popular once again with the 16 players who
enthusiastically participated. Held at the Germantown home of Gordon
Fraser, the schedule included three lectures a day by Yang and a
thorough review of games played by the participants each day. Yang also
gave out his notorious life and death problems as "homework" during the
workshop. Despite a massive effort and a lot of cooperation among some
of the players, no one managed to solve them all, a not uncommon
result. The workshop was particularly enjoyable because Fraser's wife
Susan prepared lunch and dinner for the entire group every day.- reported by Bill Cobb; photo by Phil Straus

LEE SEDOL WINS KOREAN MAXIM CUP: After
losing the first game in their best-of-three-game match, Lee Sedol 9P
defeated Park Jungsang 9P 2-1 to take the Maxim Cup. All three games
were decided by resignation. This is Lee's third year in a row to take
this title, which no one else has done.

JAEUP KIM WINS CAMBRIDGE TRIGANTIUS:
Jaeup Kim 5d of Reading beat out Andrew Jones 3d of Wanstead in the
final round to win the annual Cambridge Trigantius in Britain. There
were 56 participants in the main tournament. The prize for Best Kyu
Player was shared by Matthieu Flinders 1k, Ukrit Mankong 1k, and Taka
Obita 2k, all of Cambridge.UMEZAWA WINS JAPANESE WOMEN'S KISEI: Umezawa
Yukari 5P has won her first title, taking the Women's Kisei with a
score of 2-1 over Mannami Kana 3P. Although Umezawa is one of the best
known Japanese women pros, this was her first challenge for a title as
well. The Women's Kisei has been dominated by Chinen Kaori 4P, who has
won it five times. Mannami has held it twice, winning in 2004 and last
year.

AOKI TIES UP JAPANESE WOMEN'S MEIJIN:
Aoki Kikuyo 8P took the second game of her defense of her Women's
Meijin title against Kato Keiko 5P to even the score at 1-1. Kato won
the first game by 6.5 points and Aoki took the second by resignation.
The decisive third game is scheduled for this Wednesday. Aoki first won
this title in 1990 and has held it four additional times since. This is
Kato's first challenge for a title.

YOUTH GO: USYGC Games, Christopher Kiguchi Profile & Curtis Huang on “My First Tournament”by Paul Barchilon, EJ Youth Editor
With three qualifiers coming up in March, the US Youth Go Championship
(USYGC) is kicking into high gear. We have three reports today,
including two game commentaries, a profile of Christopher Kiguchi 4d,
and Curtis Huang’s report on his first go tournament. We hope
these inspire you to jump in: kids who want to compete can pick a
regional event from the website
First up are two game commentaries from the USYGC qualifier event held
on February 24 in Orange County, CA (attached). Jie Li 9d provides
detailed comments on the top game in each bracket. (If you enjoy these game commentaries, consider signing up for the weekly Member’s Edition, which features game commentaries, reviews and go news previews every Friday; more info Two teen titans squared off in the senior bracket, with Cherry Shen 5d drawing white against Matthew Burrall 7d (W112 in the diagram at left is the final losing move; see the attached game commentary to find out why).
In the junior bracket, it was a battle of the pre-teen titans, with
dueling ten-year-olds Calvin Sun 6d taking white against Christopher
Kiguchi 4d, who is profiled below in our second feature. The event
“ran very smoothly,” reports tournament organizer Kevin
Chao, who credited the experience of TD Steve Burrall. “The
competition level was very high in both Senior and Junior sections as
well as the handicap section. I am very sure next year we’ll see
more players attending this tournament."
Finally, Curtis Huang 16k -- a senior at Mission Viejo High School --
provides a first-person youth perspective on his experience at the
qualifier.

YOUTH PROFILES: Christopher Kiguchi 4dby Preston Hutchins
Christopher Kiguchi, a ten-year-old 4 dan from Irvine, California,
started playing go at the age of 4 while living in Japan. His mother
introduced him to the game in order to teach him to think, taking him
to a go club where he took an immediate and keen interest in the game.
Members at the club played regularly with him and gave him teaching
games and he reached amateur shodan strength in just two years. Kiguchi
plays a game every day on the internet, and studies go problems
regularly, 10 per day. Though he has no go activity at school, he
continues to learn from strong players such as his teacher, Yilun Yang,
7p, who gives him teaching games. He would like to return to Japan to
study go as an insei so that he may become a professional player.
Kiguchi says that he does not emulate any favorite professional
players, seeking instead to construct and build upon his own particular
style. He describes his play as emphasizing territory with an eye
towards killing weak groups of stones. Christopher also enjoys playing
soccer and basketball.

MY FIRST TOURNAMENT
by Curtis Huang 16k
I started learning go quite a few years ago, but I stopped due to time
constraints. Yet, looking back, it was a mistake to stop. My experience
at the US Youth Go Championship in Orange County -- my very first go
tournament -- has only strengthened that belief. I had no idea what to
expect, as up until then I had only played go with my group of friends
during lunch time. However, I was overwhelmed by the tournament. The
other players were much younger than I, and they were incredibly
serious. Despite being about 10 years older, I was intimidated by these
other kids! They showed an amazing passion for the game of go that I
had never seen before.
The first day of the tournament I played in the 2 kyu division bracket.
Though I won, it was incredibly difficult. My opponents were
formidable, and I was constantly on guard. Their enthusiasm for the
game was endless. Even during losses, they remained optimistic and
positive. On the second day I played with Division 1 Kyu opponents, who
completely dominated me. However, it was a valuable experience as I
learned many things, and it was still incredibly fun. Though I am
graduating this year, I am very happy to have participated in the go
tournament, for it will supply me with wonderful memories that will
last a lifetime.

March 17-18: Seattle, WA
USYGC Regional Tournament
This is one of three in the Western Region
http://www.seattlegocenter.org/generateeventpage.php?page=20070317031801.event
Gordon Castanza gcastanza@comcast.net 253.853.4831
Jon Boley jon@airsltd.com 206.545.1424

March 24-25: San Francisco, CA
SF Go Club Spring tournament and World Youth Go Championship qualifier
Registration for the WYGC must be received by Mar. 17
Steve Burrall sburrall@comcast.net 916.688.2858

PLAYERS WANTED: Stafford, VA: We play go every Thursday evening at the
public library, 2001 Parkway Blvd., Stafford, Va. Also, once a month
(First Wednesday evening of each month) at the Salem Church branch of
the library,2607 Salem Church Rd., Frederickburg, Va. All are welcome.
Contactedebutts@crrl.org (3/5)

PLAYERS WANTED: Monument, CO: Anyone in the area of Monument, Colorado
willing to start a go club, or just someone to play against. Also
anyone who has any ideas on where to host a go club. Please contact
go_player_137@yahoo.com (2/26)

WANTED: Go-playing Chinese-speaking English-speaking China Guide. I am
looking for one person who will travel through China with me, exploring
China and playing go. I will pay expenses but no salary. Please email
peterchristopher@yahoo.com (2/26)

Text material published in the AMERICAN GO E JOURNAL may be reproduced
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that commented game record files MAY NOT BE published, re-distributed,
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Articles appearing in the E-Journal represent the opinions of the
authors and do not necessarily reflect the official views of the
American Go Association.

American Go Association
P.O. Box 397
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New York, NY 10113-0397